Pundit names ‘favourite’ in Philippe Clement v Kevin Muscat Rangers race, it’s a ‘complicated’ appointment
Kevin Muscat is the favourite to take the Rangers job ahead of Philippe Clement but it remains a “complicated” appointment, according to pundit Alan Rough.
Journalist Alan Nixon reported on Friday (13 October) that the Rangers board are braced to hire former Monaco boss Clement over the weekend, amid reported interest from Saudi Arabia.
However, Rough thinks former Gers player Muscat will get the nod, but his hire is being held up by the fact he is going for the J.League title with Yokohama F. Marinos.
“I think he’ll get the job. I think if he’d been available now he’d already be in the job,” he told PLZ Soccers’ Football Podcast (13 October, 35m).
“It’s complicated because he’s still got business at Yokohama. I think they’re maybe waiting for him.
“If Clement was going to get the job, he’d have got it this week. So I think Muscat is the favourite, but I do think it’s between the two of them.”
Two-horse race
One thing is pretty clear – Rangers are going to appoint either one of two candiates, Philippe Clement or Kevin Muscat.
Who is going to get the job? Well, despite rumours the former has won the race it is still not entirely clear.
Some reports have suggested that an appointment might not even be in place by the time Rangers face Hibernian after the international break on October 21, which would seem a real waste of the international break if true.
Rough does make a good point. If Clement was the clear frontrunner then surely they could have made the hire by now, and Muscat is already in a job, one where he can win more silverware.
Only time will tell if his view is correct, but whoever gets the job is going to have to hit the ground running. More time on the training ground during the international break would have helped with that.
In other Rangers news, Peter Martin has dropped a “shenanigans” claim amid the search for a new boss.